A Union is a group of workers joined together and acting in concert to promote their collective best interest. Union members elect the various leaders such as Stewards, Business Agents,etc. to represent them against the company in many workplace issues.

WHO ARE THE TEAMSTERS?

The Teamsters are the largest trade union in the country with a membership at approximately 1.4 million workers. The parent organization, now known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was formed in 1903 originally serving the interest of deliverymen who drove "teams" of horses before the advent of the motor truck. Therefore the name- Teamster still remains. As a member of a Teamsters bargaining unit you are entitled to representation from your Union.

WHAT IS A SHOP STEWARD?

A Shop Steward is your first point of contact and is elected every year. Your Steward's job is to educate you and to communicate to you what your local Union is doing for you. They are not part of the UPS Management team, they work as hourly employees, just like you, and perform the same kind of labor you do. They are concerned about your on the job safety and how you are treated. If you are facing discipline from your Supervisor, you should respectfully request to have your Shop Steward present. If you feel something is not right in your work situation, you should let your Steward know.

REPRESENTATIONAL RIGHTS

A very important factor in resolving a dispute with management is the involvement of your Shop Steward. Failure in having your Shop Steward present may cause further injury to the situation and possibly result in being unjustly disciplined. When anticipating a dispute with Management or a co-worker, it is your right to have a Shop Steward present. (Refer to National Master, Article 4), which states in part:

" The Employer recognizes the employee's right to be given requested representation by a Steward, or a designated alternate, at such time the employee reasonably contemplates disciplinary action."

REMEMBER, It is up to you, the employee, to insist upon Union representation.

INJURY PROCEDURE

If you are injured or think you are injured on the job, you should report the injury to your supervisor and your Shop Steward at the time of the injury. It is not up to your supervisor to decide whether or not you've been injured. It is not their job to give medical advice.

Failure to report your injury at the time of injury, may result in UPS disputing your injury and compensation benefits.

PAYCHECK SHORTAGES

All pay shortages should immediately be reported to your Shop Steward. If your pay shortage is valid, your Steward will try to resolve the issue with your immediate supervisor. If your shortage is disputed or not corrected, the Shop Steward may elect to file a grievance under National Master, Article 17. In order to assist your Steward in resolving your pay shortage, keep an accurate record of all hours worked every day. This will go a long way in helping the Steward to resolve your shortage.

MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

The employer shall not in any way intimidate, harass, coerce, or overly supervise any employee in the performance of his or her duties. The employer will treat employees with dignity and respect at all times, which shall include, but not be limited to, giving due consideration to the age and physical condition of the employee. Employees will also treat each other as well as the employer with dignity and respect. (Refer to Natioanl Master, Article 37 for complete Article.)

Our contract, mutually agreed upon by both UPS and the Teamsters in the above articles, states that the Company (UPS Management) shall not direct or require supervisors to do work which is recognized as the work of the employees. In other words, supervisors are prohibited from doing work that one of us, a Union member, would get paid to do. If you believe that a supervisor is doing your work, or someone else's, notify your Shop Steward.

UNION WITHDRAWAL CARD

If you leave employment at UPS, contact the Union Hall immediately, as you are entitled to an honorary withdrawal card which will enable you to rejoin this Teamster local as well as any other Teamster Union in the US and Canada without paying an additional initiation fee.

NOTE: To be eligible for a Union withdrawal card, all dues and intitiation fees must be paid up to date.

WORK AS DIRECTED

Failure to follow instructions and gross insubordination are very serious subjects, and can lead to the employee being discharged.

NEVER SAY:"No, I will not do it", to the supervisor. Do the task and then ask for the Shop Steward.

GUARANTEE

Part time employees (except air drivers) are guaranteed 3 1/2 hours work upon reporting to work as scheduled.

IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!

REPRESENTATIONAL RIGHTS STATEMENT

(If you are called to a meeting with management, read the following to management)

"If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative, Office, or Shop Steward, be present in this meeting. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion."

XPO Logistics is a top ten global logistics and transportation company with annual revenue of $15 billion and 89,000 employees, another 10,000 workers classified as independent contractors, and thousands more working for firms that subcontract with XPO. We are the REAL workers at XPO Logistics worldwide exposing the truth about the company’s global greed, illegal wage theft, unsafe conditions, and abhorrent and vicious anti-worker, anti-union tactics.

This greed includes mistreating former Con-way Freight workers in the United States who are being kept in the dark about terminal closures and layoffs, and the company’s illegal refusal to bargain contracts and denying their workers’ federally protected right to organize. It also includes port, rail and last-mile drivers around the country and in Southern California fighting wage theft in excess of $200 million because they are misclassified as independent contractors and denied the right to form their union. This greed has caused numerous lawsuits and strikes. Greed also means an unsafe workplace and mistreating its warehouse employees.

XPO’s greed extends to Europe beginning with breaking its promise to not layoff any workers for at least 18 months. French workers and the unions have been fighting back against XPO’s disrespect, lies and attempts to slash jobs. Similar struggles are taking place in Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and across Europe.

Join the worldwide struggle now! Get involved with this campaign by joining the Facebook group “XPO Exposed.”

Together, we can eXPOse the company’s global greed and win fairness, respect and dignity for tens of thousands of XPO employees around the world!

Workers’ pensions are being endangered by both Congress and those charged with overseeing them. The Teamsters and our members are standing united to say “No!” to cuts and “Yes!” to greater retirement security!

The ‘Let’s Get America Working!’ campaign seeks to restore a dynamic and prosperous middle class to drive economic growth by helping to advance policy decisions that create and maintain good middle-income jobs, guarantee retirement security, expand access to the American Dream, and ensure that the benefits of the ongoing economic recovery are felt by the many, not just the few.

This webpage provides information on the Teamsters Union’s legislative advocacy at both the federal and state level as well as our field activity to support those policy positions and to get strong labor candidates elected to office. Among other resources, you will find our federal legislative scorecard, formal statements of policy position and communications to Capitol Hill, a weekly update on federal legislative happenings, an overview of bills we are tracking at the state level, and quick links to take action on priority issues.

This web page provides information on the ongoing effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since 1994, NAFTA has devastated working families, putting corporate profits ahead of people. What’s worse is that NAFTA has become the blueprint for all other trade agreements, from the way that it was negotiated in secret, to the bad provisions that have made their way into every agreement that has been signed since then. Now, NAFTA is being renegotiated and we demand that it be reframed to work for workers instead of corporate interests.

The Teamsters have stood in solidarity with worker struggles in other countries since our founding. With economic globalization, our ability to organize increasingly depends on our ability to build alliances with workers on a global scale.
More than ever, Teamsters are organizing and bargaining with multi-national companies. A key objective of our Global Strategies Campaign is to build strong alliances with unions around the globe who organize and bargain with common employers. Our focus is on workers in the emerging global supply chains – the infrastructure of globalization.
Globalization creates new opportunities for international worker solidarity. We seek common cause with workers around the world to build social justice for all workers and the communities in which they live.